Tag: MUNICH

UPS Suspends Deliveries in Swedish ‘No-Go Zone’ Citing Attacks on Drivers

See the source image

By Dan Lyman

International logistics giant UPS has suspended all home deliveries in Rosengård, Sweden, citing attacks on drivers, according to local media.

After a Rosengård photographer did not receive a package he had ordered, he contacted the seller to find out why and was reportedly told UPS could not deliver to his house, “because of the risk of being subjected to robbery or other crimes.”

A UPS Sweden spokesperson confirmed the policy in response to an inquiry by Fria Tider, saying, “Our drivers have been attacked and therefore we have decided not to hand out packages in Rosengård.”

Rosengård, a district in culturally-enriched Malmö known as one of Sweden’s worst ‘no-go zones,’ has been described by the London Times as a place where migrant teens “roam the streets with rifles,” and where bombings and attacks on police are common.

More than 80 percent of Rosengård’s population was not born in Sweden and roughly 90 percent of residents are Muslim.

Sweden’s postal service, PostNord, has reportedly been forced to suspend deliveries in Rosengård on multiple occasions in recent years, as well.

“The postmen can go there without being threatened, but if we drive there with the package car they will be threatened,” a PostNord spokesman told Aftonbladet. “It has to do with the value, what is in the packages.”

“We must think of our staff first.”

In 2017, electrical maintenance company Högs EL announced it could no longer serve customers in Malmö, citing a “prevailing security risk” posed by “violence and shootings” in the area.

0

GOOGLE’S ALWAYS LISTENING: NEST SECURITY SYSTEM HAS A SECRET EMBEDDED MICROPHONE

Google's Always Listening: Nest Security System Has A Secret Embedded Microphone

No surprise

Zero Hedge – FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Surprise! Another smart home device has the ability to spy on people.

I doubt anyone who is reading this will be shocked by this news, but here we go.

Back in early February, tech giant Google announced that Nest Secure, its home security and alarm system, was now compatible with the company’s Home Assistant voice-control function.

Here is an excerpt from that announcement:

Nest Secure has supported Google Assistant integration for quite some time, but with this most recent update, the product is taking that to a new level by turning itself into a Google Assistant speaker. This is just like what the Nest Cam IQ did last year. With the flip of a switch in the Nest app, you can set the Secure as an always-listening Assistant speaker. (source)

The problem?

Nest users didn’t know a microphone existed on their security device, to begin with.

In order to be compatible with a voice control feature, the device would need to have a microphone.

BUT GOOGLE NEVER MENTIONED THERE WAS A MICROPHONE EMBEDDED IN THE DEVICE.

That important detail was never disclosed in any of the product material for the device, which has been on the market since 2017.

“As recently as January, the product specs for the device made no mention of a microphone,” the Associated Press reports.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider this was an “error.”

“The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part. The microphone has never been on, and is only activated when users specifically enable the option.

Security systems often use microphones to provide features that rely on sound sensing. We included the mic on the device so that we can potentially offer additional features to our users in the future, such as the ability to detect broken glass.” (source)

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME NEST MADE THE NEWS THIS MONTH.

On February 6, owners of Nest security cameras received an email from Google, warning them to secure their login credentials with things like two-factor identification and stronger passwords.

The reason?

The routine security reminder comes after an uptick in Nest camera hacks and even the occasional hoax, many of which have been downright bizarre and creepy: An Illinois family recently had its device breached by a hacker who spewed abusive epithets through the camera’s microphone into their living room, while another criminal peered into a baby’s room in Houston, Texas, for example. (source)

Google claimed the email was sent as a reminder and said there hadn’t been a breach of the broader Nest user base. As of February 2018, Nest had at sold 11 million of the devices.

This excerpt from the email was published by Popular Mechanics:

For context, even though Nest was not breached, customers may be vulnerable because their email addresses and passwords are freely available on the internet. If a website is compromised, it’s possible for someone to gain access to user email addresses and passwords, and from there, gain access to any accounts that use the same login credentials. For example, if you use your Nest password for a shopping site account and the site is breached, your login information could end up in the wrong hands. From there, people with access to your credentials can cause the kind of issues we’ve seen recently. (source)

Google has faced criticism in the past for its location data-tracking practices, along with allowing third-party developers to read people’s emails on Gmail, reports CNET.

And, Business Insider reminds us that in 2010, Google acknowledged that its fleet of Street View cars “accidentally” collected personal data transmitted over consumers’ unsecured WiFi networks, including emails.

GOOGLE CAN APOLOGIZE AND MAKE EXCUSES ALL IT WANTS, BUT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE AREN’T BUYING IT.

“Nest’s failure to disclose the onboard microphone included in its secure home security system is a massive oversight,” said Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at BestVPN.com. “Despite Google’s assurances, the fact is that the device has a microphone which could potentially have been hacked or accessed by Google to perform covert corporate surveillance.”

The Register asked Google if any Nest microphones had been activated prior to the company’s announcement of their existence and whether the company could confirm that no audio data was collected during that period. “Google claims that the mics were never used prior to disclosure, which would preclude the possibility of covert data collection,” the tech site reports.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to force Google to sell its Nest division and surrender any data that was collected from Nest customers.

In a brief statement on its website, the nonprofit privacy and civil liberties advocacy group said:

Following reports that Google installed secret listening devices in the homes security product Nest, EPIC asked the Federal Trade Commission to require Google to spin-off Nest and to disgorge the data obtained from Nest users. It is a federal crime to intercept private communications or to plant a listening device in a private residence. (source)

GOOGLE ISN’T EXACTLY KNOWN FOR BEING AN ETHICAL COMPANY.

Last year, Google came under fire for its participation in a controversial Pentagon program called Project Maven, which would use AI and machines to track and identify objects using drones for the Department of Defense.

Even Google employees objected to the company’s involvement in that program. In a letter signed by more than 3,100 Google employees, the workers stated: “We believe that Google should not be in the business of war… We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties.” It was reported that about a dozen employees resigned in protest over the project.

The Intercept reported that Google was forced to shut down the project after members of the company’s privacy team raised internal complaints that it had been kept secret from them.

In late 2018, more than 1,400 Google staff, many journalists, and human rights organizations called on Google to halt a controversial project called Dragonfly, a highly censored Chinese search engine:

Dragonfly is a search engine specially built for China. It would unleash more censorship on a mass scale by selectively blocking certain search terms, apparently at the behest of China’s government. Human rights groups are blasting the company for aiding and abetting China’s mass surveillance and rights violations which could result in potential imprisonment. (source)

Google used to have an iconic clause in its code of conduct that said, “Don’t be evil.” Last year, that clause was removed.

0

GAY MUSLIM MIGRANT WHO TRIVIALIZED TERROR ATTACKS TO REPRESENT FRANCE AT EUROVISION

Gay Muslim Migrant Who Trivialized Terror Attacks to Represent France at Eurovision

Another stunning victory for “diversity”

 | Infowars.com – FEBRUARY 25, 2019

A gender-bending gay Muslim migrant who trivialized terror attacks that killed 300 people over the last few years is to represent France at this year’s Eurovision song contest.

The choice of 19-year-old Bilal Hassani to perform his song “Roi” at the annual music competition is being hailed as a victory for “diversity” because Hassani wears feminine wigs, is homosexual, a Muslim and has Moroccan migrant parents.

However, he has come under scrutiny due to previous tweets and videos in which he supported anti-Semitism and joked about jihadist terror attacks on France.

In a 2014 tweet Hassani defended comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bal, a convicted anti-Semite. He has also repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes, a factor that might not help him as Eurovision is being held in Tel Aviv this year.

According to the Times of Israel, a video also “surfaced in which Hassani and two friends declare “France suffered a lot, attacks here, attacks there. Oooh!” to hoots of laughter.”

130 people were killed during the Paris massacre in November 2015, while a further 86 were killed in Nice the following July when a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people by an Islamic terrorist.

A Republican senator wrote a letter to Eurovision organizers demanding they withdraw Hassani’s nomination for “trivializing” the jihadist attacks.

However, Hassani claims that the criticism all stems from his sexuality and his migrant background.

“It bothers some people a lot that my parents were born in Morocco and that I’m gay. There’s no denying that,” he told Le Parisien, adding that the insults made him “even more determined to respond to the haters.”

What Hassani thinks about the fact that gay people are still routinely incarcerated, tortured and in some cases executed in some Muslim countries and how this is compatible with his faith is not known.

0

Iran Navy Begins “Massive Drill” Stretching Across World’s Key Oil Chokepoints

By Tyler Durden

Iran’s navy has begun a three day war game exercise on Friday in the Persian Gulf, in an expansive area encompassing Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, to the Sea of Oman and even stretching to northern parts of the Indian Ocean, state media reports. Some reports indicate the games could go on for as much as a week, but all emphasized the “large-scale” nature of the drills in which Iran’s navy will showcase the Fateh-class submarine — a domestically built sub carrying cruise missiles and torpedoes, as well as its Sahand destroyer.

The cruise missile-firing capable Fateh, or “Conqueror”, was launched for the first time at the start of this week and has been touted as “state-of-the-art” and with the ability to stay underwater for five weeks at a time. Crucially, the large exercises come after last week’s US-sponsored Warsaw conference in which both Israeli and US officials made threats of war with Tehran. Indeed during the conference Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu openly stated that he was attending the summit with an aim to “advance the common interest of war with Iran.”

CAP

The games also come at a time when even foreign policy establishment insiders, such as the Council on Foreign Relation’s Steven Cook, increasingly acknowledge that the White House’s “march to war against Iran” is now “echoing the drumbeats” of the lead up to the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Cook warns:

Taken together—the Warsaw conference, Pence’s bullying of the Europeans, Bolton’s threatening video, and the broader background noise in Washington—the events of the past week were familiar in a foreboding way. The chatter about Iran has not become the war fever that gripped Washington in 2002 over Iraq, but the echoes of that year are not hard to miss in the Trump administration’s effort to shape the domestic and international debate about Iran.

Iran’s drills in the coming days will further involve battleship exercises and amphibious and anti-amphibious warfare maneuvers, according to Iranian military statements.

Though there’s general agreement that Iran’s navy poses no match of US superiority on the sea and in the skies, Iran seeks to be a significant disruptor of American Persian Gulf capabilities.

Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, commander of Iran’s navy, reflected this in comments announcing the inauguration of the games: “For the first time, these weapons will be tested seriously and we can make the maritime region unsafe for the enemy in any way possible,” he said. He said the games, formally called “Velayat 97,” will begin 2km from the Strait of Hormuz and extend 10 degrees north of the Indian Ocean, in an extended zone some analysts worry may indicate broader intentions regarding Oman and Yemen. 

CAP

As the Jerusalem Post summarizes of this concern, “In Yemen Iran has supported the Houthi rebels who have used Iranian technology to target Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles.” And recently, “In addition Oman enjoys decent relations with Iran but Oman also hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year and has sought to play a role in the Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.”

In the past, Iranian war games have resulted in close encounters with US warships traversing parts of the Persian Gulf. But this somewhat “routine” occurrence could potentially spark a major incident considering the high level of aggressive rhetoric coming out of Washington at this time.
0

DRUGS MADE HIM DO IT? SEASON FINALE CLIFFHANGER

Screen Shot 2019-02-22 at 11.29.22 AM

By Don Babwin

CHICAGO (AP) — Actor Jussie Smollett‘s character on “Empire” will be removed from the final two episodes of this season in the wake of his arrest on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself last month in downtown Chicago, producers of the Fox TV show announced Friday.

In this courtroom sketch,
This Feb. 21, 2019 photo released by the Chicago Police Department shows Jussie Smollett. Police say the
FILE - In this May 14, 2018 file photo, Jussie Smollett, a cast member in the TV series

View all (7)

The announcement came a day after Smollett turned himself in to police, appeared in court on a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report, and left jail after posting bond.

“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays,” ”Empire” executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said in a written statement. “We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”

“Empire” has nine episodes left to air in its fifth season; the last two episodes are still being worked on.

Smollett, who is black and gay, plays a gay character on the show that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.

Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where “Empire” is shot, police said.

As authorities laid out their case against Smollett, the narrative that emerged Thursday sounded like that of a filmmaker who wrote, cast, directed and starred in a short movie.

Prosecutors said Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage the attack in January, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.

“I believe Mr. Smollett wanted it on camera,” police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters at a Thursday morning news conference. “But unfortunately that particular camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.”

Smollett’s legal team issued a statement Thursday night, calling the actor a “man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence.” The statement called Johnson’s news conference “an organized law enforcement spectacle.”

“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett,” the statement read.

Smollett is earning more than $100,000 per episode, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because salary details were involved. The studio declined to comment on the actor’s salary.

As is customary with a successful TV series, regular cast members on “Empire” received a boost in pay as part of contract extensions that followed the drama’s renewal for a second season, the person said.

Smollett is counted among the series regulars.

___

AP Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

0

Sweden: Gay Resident Beaten by Migrant Gang in LGBTQ-Certified Asylum Home

By Ben Warren

Screen Shot 2019-02-22 at 11.02.19 AM

Around 20 Afghan migrants assaulted a gay resident in an LGBTQ-certified asylum home in Westsura, Sweden, according to local media.

The victim, described as an “Iranian gay man,” received such a fierce beating from the asylum seekers in the dining room that the local migration board had to hire a security company to “maintain order” days after the incident.

“It [was] like twenty rockets were lit,” said a staff member. “The entire dining room was coming. They charged over tables and chairs.”

“…They attacked no one else.”

The staff present only interfered after the attackers began to use chairs and forks on the victim.

Only one of the attackers, Abdul Azizi, was convicted of assault; he claims his actions were in “self-defense,” an account the staff and victim denies.

“If I had been alone and he had said [such] ugly things then I could have checked myself, but when he said this openly to everyone, we all became so upset and couldn’t control us,” said Azizi. “We may have made an unconscious error, but honor violations are serious for us.”

This particular asylum home is locally celebrated due to it being the first of its kind to be LGBTQ-certified by Sweden’s Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL) back in 2015.

To earn that title, workers went through 16 hours of training, two workshops, and paid attention to details like sex-divided toilets and the art on the walls.

Interestingly, prosecutors have ruled out the assault being a hate crime, a perspective the victim seems to disagree with.

He asserts the attack was the latest in a series of harassments that targeted him and other gay residents.

“When we go to the restaurant, they insult us, scream at us and threaten us,” he said. “It also happens elsewhere in the accommodation.”

Screen Shot 2019-02-22 at 11.03.04 AM

0

Suspect Arrested ’He Has Made No Statement to Police’

By John Nolte

CAP

Empire star Jussie Smollett surrendered to police at 5:00 a.m. and is now in custody, reports ABC 7 Chicago.

“Smollett surrendered to authorities Thursday morning after he was charged with one count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report,” the report says.

“Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that Smollett is in custody after surrendering to authorities after 5 a.m. Police said they would conduct a news conference at 9 a.m. Smollett is expected to appear in bond court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.”

CAP

The bond hearing will likely be a formality. The “judge is expected to formally read the charge against Smollett, set his bond and then he will be released. Smollett will return to court at a later date to enter his plea,” reports ABC 7.

On January 29, Smollett reported a hate crime to police, claiming he had been assaulted in downtown Chicago at 1:30 a.m. by two bigots.

Smollett told police the two men recognized him, hurled racial and homophobic slurs (Smollett is black and gay) and assaulted him. Before warning him “This is MAGA country!” — a reference to President Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan — he said the two men poured bleach on his black skin and tied a noose around his neck. The men wore red hats, similar to those worn by Trump supporters, and black facemasks.

According to police, two brothers, both of whom are black, have admitted to being paid by Smollett to stage the attack. Local reporters have found surveillance video of the brothers purchasing the items (see above) allegedly used in the hoax, including a red hat and face masks.

CAP

As of now, Smollett claims he is innocent. His attorneys released a statement: “Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.”

The problem with Smollett’s claim of innocence is that he is hanging the two brothers out to dry with the claim they were the ones who, for whatever reason, committed a hate crime against him. According to various reports, Smollett was friendly with the brothers. One or both worked on Empire with him. One might have even been his personal trainer.

But now Smollett apparently wants us to believe they sat outside in subzero weather waiting for the opportunity to beat on him and call him a “nigger” and “faggot,” to pour bleach on him and wrap a noose around his neck.

The attorney representing the brothers told reporters Wednesday: “I think Jusse Smollett should come clean because the truth will set you free. … I think that Jesse’s conscience is not letting him sleep right now, so I think he should unload that conscience and just come out and tell the American people what actually happened.”

She also said her clients did receive money from Smollett.

Smollett is also under investigation over a piece of hate mail sent to him at the Empireoffices. The racist letter contained a white powder (that proved to be harmless), but local media is reporting the brothers told police Smollett arranged to have the letter sent to himself.

For filing a false police report, Smollett could face three years in prison and a hefty fine that could include the cost of the investigation. The hate letter could mean federal mail fraud charges.

As of now, Smollett’s employers at Fox are standing by their star, although there have been reports his role was dramatically reduced in upcoming episodes and that the filing of felony charges could mean a suspension.

0

UK woman says she was held by police for 7 hours after ‘misgendering’ trans activist on Twitter

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.22.44 AM

A landmark legal battle is set to unfold between a mother-of-two who says she was arrested for identifying a transgender woman as male, and the alleged victim who has repeatedly reported Twitter users to police for harassment.

38-year-old Kate Scottow from Hertfordshire says that her life has been turned upside down since police arrived at her house on December 1 last year to arrest her, bring her to a station, take her DNA and fingerprints, before opening an investigation that still hasn’t been resolved.

“I was arrested in my home by three officers, with my autistic ten-year-old daughter and breastfed 20-month-old son present,” Scottow wrote on popular online forum Mumsnet.

“I was then detained for seven hours in a cell with no sanitary products (which I said I needed) before being interviewed then later released under investigation… I was arrested for harassment and malicious communications because I called someone out and misgendered them on Twitter.”

Scottow says that her laptop and mobile phone have been retained as evidence, preventing her from working on her Masters degree in forensic psychology.

Hertfordshire police told RT in a statement that an investigation is “ongoing” but insisted that Scottow’s electronic devices have now been returned to her, and denied not issuing her with sanitary products, noting the “request is recorded on our custody system and the products provided.”

‘Reasonable belief that it is impossible to change sex’

The entire investigation was started following a complaint by Stephanie Hayden. She first became widely known last year after comedy writer Graham Linehan was issued with a police caution for “deadnaming” her – referring to her as “Tony” after her birth name Anthony Halliday – though she has pursued a string of similar complaints, including one against a transsexual lawyer.

In this case, Scottow is being accused of using two separate Twitter accounts to “harass, defame, and publish derogatory and defamatory tweets” about Hayden, calling her a “racist, xenophobic and a crook” and a “fake lawyer.”

Her defense insists that Scottow was expressing a “genuine and reasonable belief” that it is impossible to “practically speaking change sex.” Nonetheless, thanks to an injunction the judge has banned her from posting about Hayden online, or making any references to her previous identity.

Hayden has promised to start further legal action against the Daily Mail, which turned the Mumsnet post into a news story.

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.24.38 AM

Ironically for someone who has become the symbol of increased police attention on Twitter hate speech crimes (though she insists she is not an activist) Hayden reportedly has a criminal record herself.

Legal news site RollOnFriday reported last year that in 1999, while still Anthony Halliday, she was convicted of assaulting a man with a golf club, while abusing her victim as a “big fat bastard.”  During the sentencing the judge noted Halliday’s previous convictions for disorderly behavior and dishonesty.

‘Are we getting to the PC tipping point?’

The case has attracted comment from several prominent conservative voices and free speech advocates.

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.25.41 AM

“You can’t police properly if officers are endlessly filling custody suites with 38 year old mums whose crime is to have caused needless offense on Twitter,” wrote former foreign secretary Boris Johnson in his Telegraph column.

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.26.27 AM

“Are we getting to the PC tipping point yet? This is insane and has to stop,” tweeted Donald Trump Jr.

“UK is f***ed,” surmised Australian newspaper columnist Rita Panahi.

0

(ANOTHER DEMOCRAT!) – REP. ILHAN OMAR GOES ON ANTI-SEMITIC TWITTER RAMPAGE; ADVOCACY GROUP DEMANDS APOLOGY

Rep. Ilhan Omar Goes on Anti-Semitic Twitter Rampage; Advocacy Group Demands Apology

She accused deep-pocketed Jews of buying American politicians and retweeted a post calling Jews ‘hook nosed’

By Tom Elliott

Democrats’ freshmen class of lawmakers are providing the party with a new source of passion — and a lot of headaches.

A series of tweets sent Sunday night from Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are another addition for the latter category.

The tweets began after a writer for the Intercept, Glenn Greenwald, posted a story about Rep. Kevin McCarthy “threatening punishment” of Rep. Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) “over their criticisms of Israel.” (As CNN’s Jake Tapper noted, McCarthy’s comments were actually directed at “what he sees as anti-Semitic rhetoric from Reps. Omar and Tlaib.”)

Rep. Omar responded to Greenwald’s post with, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby”:

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.04.43 AM

The insinuation that Jewish interests were compelling Rep. McCarthy’s actions prompted some to ask Rep. Omar for clarification.

When a writer for the Forward asked, “Would love to know who Omar thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel,” Rep. Omar responded: “AIPAC!”

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.05.26 AM

As a 501(c))4), the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) does not actually make contributions to politicians.

Omar later re-tweeted a Jewish writer who described himself as not generally sympathetic to Israel, but felt Rep. Omar’s attacks on Jews were akin to calling “us hook-nosed.” 

Rep. Omar subsequently deleted her retweet, apparently not having realized the post was calling her anti-Semitic. However, some online captured her retweet before it was taken down:

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.06.11 AM

Rep. Omar’s tweets were promptly condemned among Jewish advocacy groups. AIPAC responded: “We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work.”

The American Jewish Committee called her tweets “stunningly anti-Semitic.” 

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.07.00 AM

Her comments also drew scorn from her fellow Democrats. Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) wrote, “When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes and words against people of any faith, I will not be silent. Congresswoman Omar’s statements are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself.” 

“Implying that Americans support Israel because of money alone is offensive enough,” Rose’s statement continued. “But to go a step further, and retweet someone declaring their parent at her sentiment is simply unacceptable. At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise, our leaders should not be invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel.” 

“In the Democratic Party — and in the United States of America — we celebrate the diversity of our people, and the God we pray to, as a strength,” he said. “The Congresswoman’s statements do not live up to that cherished ideal.”

In response to the escalating anger over her tweets, Rep. Omar said she’s the victim of “smears.” After Chelsea Clinton said “we have to call out anti-Semitic language and tropes on all sides, particularly in our elected officials and particularly now,” Rep. Omar responded:

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.07.44 AM

The freshman lawmaker then began retweeting a series of people who said her comments about Jews were not anti-Semitic.

Screen Shot 2019-02-11 at 11.08.25 AM

This is not Rep. Omar’s first time being accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic tropes. Before entering Congress, she wrote that Israel “hypnotized the world,” comments she later said she didn’t understand why Jews found offensive. More recently Rep. Omar used Holocaust Remembrance Day to downplay the Holocaust.

0

FRANCE RECALLS AMBASSADOR FROM ROME AFTER ITALY’S DEPUTY PM VISITS YELLOW VESTS

France Recalls Ambassador From Rome After Italy's Deputy PM Visits Yellow Vests

Rome, Paris relations fraying as populists challenge globalists

France has recalled its ambassador from Rome after a meeting between Italy’s deputy prime minister and leaders of the French Yellow Vest protester movement who have been calling for French President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation.

Luigi di Maio, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement hailed the “winds of change across the Alps” yesterday on Twitter after meeting with Yellow Vest activists Cristophe Chalencon and Ingrid Levavasseur.

Screen Shot 2019-02-07 at 11.14.41 AM

In a statement on the decision, France’s foreign ministry accused Italian officials of making “outrageous statements” and “repeated, baseless attacks” for months.

The statement said the attacks were without precedent since World War 2. “Having disagreements is one thing, but manipulating the relationship for electoral aims is another,” it said.

“All of these actions are creating a serious situation which is raising questions about the Italian government’s intentions towards France,” it added, making clear that Paris is increasingly worried by Di Maio and Salvini’s vocal support for the protest movement and its possible ramifications.

A diplomatic feud has been bubbling between Paris and Rome over repeated expressions of support for the protests coming from top Italian officials. Di Maio’s co-deputy PM Matteo Salvini said this week that French people “will be able to free themselves from a terrible president” in May after European parliamentary elections take place.

Chalencon and Levavasseur are themselves planning to run in those elections, according to French media reports.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑